Cadillac ATS General Discussion Forum Discussion, Another horror story about paint? in Cadillac ATS Discussion Forums; When I was taking the delivery of my brand new ATS, I discovered a small nick on the door. I ...

Another horror story about paint?

When I was taking the delivery of my brand new ATS, I discovered a small nick on the door. I showed it to my sales guy, and he told me that he has a guy who does a great job, and he (my sales guy) will contact me to arrange a time for this job. The nick was very small and I couldn't care less. So I drove the car home.

This Monday I dropped off the car at the Cadillac dealership, and today they called me and told me that the car is ready to pick up.

And I drove there and guess what? To fix a very small nick they have painted a "portion" of the door, AND the paint doesn't match! Truth to be told, when you directly stand in front of the painted door, it is almost a good match, BUT it has a totally different "shade" from an angle. I am not sure what is the correct term for it, but when you look from an angle, the portion that has been painted looks much darker!

I showed it to my sales guy and another guy who seemed to be my sales guy's supervisor, and they both admitted that there is a problem, and the supervisor was surprised that why the door is painted, and if they had wanted to paint the door, why they painted just a portion of it!

It turned out that the dealership has a contractor, and they do such paint related jobs. He tried to call them to see what they have done and what can be done to fix the problem. But it was a little bit late and he couldn't find them.

They asked me to take the car home and they will call me back for another appointment and meanwhile they will contact the contractor. I made it very clear that I am not happy with this job, and I don't take delivery of the car in its current condition, and meanwhile they are not allowed to do any further work on the car without my permission.

After talking with general sales manager, he agreed.
They seemed to be sincerely sorry about the incident, but I am not sure they can make the car right or not! The supervisor was hopping that maybe after a buff it may look better, but I am not sure.

I am very upset about what happened to my brand new car! I really don't want any major paintwork on my brand new car. I am thinking that if they fail to fix the problem with buffing, I will ask for a brand new door with factory paint. I am going to give them a little time, but if I see that they are not doing their best to fix the problem, I will contact Cadillac and Ally and will open a case. This is what I am thinking right now. Any different/further/better idea on how to proceed?

Unfortunately, the only way the car's going to look right (as in perfect and new), is to paint the door, and blend into the adjacent panels.

I can remember that something like this happened to one of members here, and the dealership put a brand new door, and it was a perfect match! But I am not sure the door was from another car in the lot, or it was factory.

Originally Posted by MoistCabbage

I think they need to get you another car. I would take NOTHING less.

Oh, man, I was hoping that I won't need to end up in that road! It is not going to be easy!

The only things that come painted (usually) are mirrors, grilles, sometimes door handles, "non serviceable" assemblies... not large body panels. And they're NOT going to disassemble another car. A GOOD body shop could paint and blend, and you'd never know it was touched. Personally, on a new car, even that would be unacceptable to me. If you're fine with an excellent repair, you'll just have to find a good shop.

Re: Another horror story about paint?

If metallic paint matches from one angle but not another, it's a problem with application. Basically the metallic particals are laying differenty from the surrounding areas. You are lucky that you have that color because it is the least metalic offered so easier for a GOOD painter to match up. You might recall I said that was a great color because it was less metallic. This is one reason why that's better.

Fortunately, nowdays repainted sections will hold up as well as the factory over time. Your next problem though may be the repainted part could be too good if its of any size because a good painter will also leave less orange peel than the factory.

Hang in there. You're doing the right thing to not accept the car back until it's right. And when its right, it should be goood as new.

Any chance you could find the right shop and tell them where thay have to take it to satisfy you? The other side of that coin is if that shop messes up, the dealer could lay some of that back on you.

Re: Another horror story about paint?

Originally Posted by MoistCabbage

The only things that come painted (usually) are mirrors, grilles, sometimes door handles, "non serviceable" assemblies... not large body panels. And they're NOT going to disassemble another car. A GOOD body shop could paint and blend, and you'd never know it was touched. Personally, on a new car, even that would be unacceptable to me. If you're fine with an excellent repair, you'll just have to find a good shop.

There have been cases worse than this, e.g. the brand new CTS-V that was covered with scratches and then the dealer had applied paint sealant on top of it! And as far as I know, after couple of months of flight and after bringing in the media, the guy couldn't get a new car.... That being said, I am NOT going to simply let this thing go away! Those guys need to make the car right! I am waiting to hear from them. If I won't feel %100 satisfied by their attitude and sense of responsibility, I will immediately open a case with Ally bank and Cadillac. The good thing is that this is a leased car, and as a result it is basically Ally Bank's car and now their car has "bad color match larger than 2 inches in diameter", and this problem "reduces remarketibality or impairs vehicle appearance"! Quotes are from Ally's guide to vehicle wear, section "excessive wears and tears"! Having a lawyer write a letter to the dealership will be the next action to take

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Originally Posted by Hoosier Daddy

If metallic paint matches from one angle but not another, it's a problem with application. Basically the metallic particals are laying differenty from the surrounding areas. You are lucky that you have that color because it is the least metalic offered so easier for a GOOD painter to match up. You might recall I said that was a great color because it was less metallic. This is one reason why that's better.

Fortunately, nowdays repainted sections will hold up as well as the factory over time. Your next problem though may be the repainted part could be too good if its of any size because a good painter will also leave less orange peel than the factory.

Hang in there. You're doing the right thing to not accept the car back until it's right. And when its right, it should be goood as new.

Any chance you could find the right shop and tell them where thay have to take it to satisfy you? The other side of that coin is if that shop messes up, the dealer could lay some of that back on you.

Yes, matching metallic paint needs special expertise and it seems that the guy totally lacked it! I really don't want to take any action that may remove the blame from the dealership! So I am going to leave it to them!

When I picked up my 2011 Blue Frost Escslade ( rare color in escalade form) it had a scartch on the front side bumper that either GM or dealer tried to cover with touch up paint. Hard to see but dealer apologized abd offered to fix fir free as they have on site body shop. But , for the reason you just highlighted I was always scared that the bumper would not match espically with the special color. Yada yada yada I have the Escalade 2 years now and still never fixed. Doesn't bother me and can't even notice.

If metallic paint matches from one angle but not another, it's a problem with application. Basically the metallic particals are laying differenty from the surrounding areas. You are lucky that you have that color because it is the least metalic offered so easier for a GOOD painter to match up. You might recall I said that was a great color because it was less metallic. This is one reason why that's better.

Fortunately, nowdays repainted sections will hold up as well as the factory over time. Your next problem though may be the repainted part could be too good if its of any size because a good painter will also leave less orange peel than the factory.

Hang in there. You're doing the right thing to not accept the car back until it's right. And when its right, it should be goood as new.

Any chance you could find the right shop and tell them where thay have to take it to satisfy you? The other side of that coin is if that shop messes up, the dealer could lay some of that back on you.

I went through the same thing when I got a huge door ding on my Black Diamond CTS that actually damaged the paint a little. I took the car to several places and everyone tried convincing me to try to avoid a re spray at all cost because it would require that the whole side of the car to be repainted to match how the metal flake would lay. One person quoted me at least $3k to $4K to reshoot the whole side of the car..... Again for a door ding. When the car is assembled it goes through a three stage paint process where the car is painted with all the panels mounted to get that nice uniform match. Too many variables later when you repaint only one panel (spray pattern, motion as it is now painted by hand versus a robot, etc.).

In the end I went the paintless dent repair route and got 99% of it out. No one could tell, but I can see a little bit of it if I stand a certain way if the light is just right.

Re: Another horror story about paint?

Originally Posted by ben.gators

When I was taking the delivery of my brand new ATS, I discovered a small nick on the door. I showed it to my sales guy, and he told me that he has a guy who does a great job, and he (my sales guy) will contact me to arrange a time for this job. The nick was very small and I couldn't care less. So I drove the car home.

This Monday I dropped off the car at the Cadillac dealership, and today they called me and told me that the car is ready to pick up.

And I drove there and guess what? To fix a very small nick they have painted a "portion" of the door, AND the paint doesn't match! Truth to be told, when you directly stand in front of the painted door, it is almost a good match, BUT it has a totally different "shade" from an angle. I am not sure what is the correct term for it, but when you look from an angle, the portion that has been painted looks much darker!

I showed it to my sales guy and another guy who seemed to be my sales guy's supervisor, and they both admitted that there is a problem, and the supervisor was surprised that why the door is painted, and if they had wanted to paint the door, why they painted just a portion of it!

It turned out that the dealership has a contractor, and they do such paint related jobs. He tried to call them to see what they have done and what can be done to fix the problem. But it was a little bit late and he couldn't find them.

They asked me to take the car home and they will call me back for another appointment and meanwhile they will contact the contractor. I made it very clear that I am not happy with this job, and I don't take delivery of the car in its current condition, and meanwhile they are not allowed to do any further work on the car without my permission.

After talking with general sales manager, he agreed.
They seemed to be sincerely sorry about the incident, but I am not sure they can make the car right or not! The supervisor was hopping that maybe after a buff it may look better, but I am not sure.

I am very upset about what happened to my brand new car! I really don't want any major paintwork on my brand new car. I am thinking that if they fail to fix the problem with buffing, I will ask for a brand new door with factory paint. I am going to give them a little time, but if I see that they are not doing their best to fix the problem, I will contact Cadillac and Ally and will open a case. This is what I am thinking right now. Any different/further/better idea on how to proceed?

By the way, the color is opulent blue.

Hello ben.gators,

I apologize for the issue you are experiencing with the dealership and the paint on your ATS. I do see that you are thinking about contacting out Customer Care team regarding this issue. Feel free to private message us with your name, contact info, VIN, mileage, and dealership that you are working with so we are able to get involved. Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to assisting you with this concern.

Re: Another horror story about paint?

Originally Posted by Cadillac Cust Svc

Hello ben.gators,

I apologize for the issue you are experiencing with the dealership and the paint on your ATS. I do see that you are thinking about contacting out Customer Care team regarding this issue. Feel free to private message us with your name, contact info, VIN, mileage, and dealership that you are working with so we are able to get involved. Thank you very much for your time. I look forward to assisting you with this concern.

Gregory W.
Cadillac Customer Care

Hi Gregory,
I just sent you a PM.

Thanks,
B

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I had a call from the dealer. They told me they need to repaint the entire door to fix the problem.
It seems that the snowball has started to roll down the hill:

Small nick-> mismatched paint on one portion of the door-> mismatched door (?)-> ???

Re: Another horror story about paint?

Originally Posted by MoistCabbage

The only things that come painted (usually) are mirrors, grilles, sometimes door handles, "non serviceable" assemblies... not large body panels. And they're NOT going to disassemble another car. A GOOD body shop could paint and blend, and you'd never know it was touched. Personally, on a new car, even that would be unacceptable to me. If you're fine with an excellent repair, you'll just have to find a good shop.

dealerships do this all the time, good ones will swap doors, hoods, trunks, bumpers, wheels, and other major components, if they have the matching car on hand. they'll do this to get the fix perfect quickly and they can put the donor back together at their leisure. if the fix on the donor exceeds a few hundred bucks they have to disclose this to the buyer of the donor car and usually discount it. so original car buyer wins, and donor car buyer wins. often times the repair is factory perfect (this is usually due to replacement parts, paint work can never be perfect) case in point last time I saw this it was because a new mechanic sliced the wood on a steering wheel during the new car safety inspection taking the plastic wrap off the wheel. buyer noticed the slice new wheel taken from donor car, new wheel ordered and installed on donor and buyer of doner got a discount.